Happy Book Launch, Sarvinder!!!

This week we’re celebrating the birth of a nation. Well, not exactly, but close. Sarvinder Naberhaus’s stunning picture book, BLUE SKY, WHITE STARS, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is a beautiful tribute to America and its diversity. What perfect timing for the release of this tribute to America and her flag, folded between two of our country’s most celebrated patriotic holidays, Memorial Day and Independence Day!

We all know that a great party (launch or otherwise) must have music! So, what better way to begin our celebration than with songs—specifically, patriotic songs—songs we learned in elementary school that still sing in our hearts and lift our spirits when we lend our voices to our country and her flag. So, to kick off the release of BLUE SKY, WHITE STARS, I asked the EMUs here in our nest to talk a little about their favorite patriotic song.

Christina Uss: My favorite patriotic song is “America the Beautiful.” When I rode my bike across our great country, I was inspired to spontaneously burst out singing it over and over and over again. There are many things to love about the U.S. of A., but this song is what bubbles up for me when I am knocked silly by the scenic beauty that is EVERYWHERE around us. I feel lucky as all get-out to be able to live and travel freely here whenever I see the fruited plain of Illinois, the amber waves of grain of Kansas, the spacious skies of Montana, the purple mountains majesty of Colorado, the alien’s play-doh playground of Utah, the sweep of the Pacific Coast in California, the bike paths of Virginia, the swimming holes of Missouri…I’ve gotta stop now or I’ll never get any other writing done, there’s JUST SO MUCH!

Jason Gallaher: It might not be considered your traditional patriotic song, but I really love Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America.” I think that song is timeless and expertly captures the anxiety teens/early-twenty-somethings feel about becoming a suburban stereotype. The kids just want to get lost in the music-go-round, dang it, and not get stuck in that suburbia sprawling everywhere!

Terry Pierce:   My favorite song about America is “This Land is Your Land” (composed by Woody Guthrie in 1940—betcha didn’t know that?). As a child, my family moved quite a bit and always explored the areas where we had traveled and lived. When I learned this song in the third grade, I loved it because I connected to many of the places in the lyrics: California, New York, forests, the Gulf, deserts and valleys. It gives tribute to the many and varied places in our country, with the message that this extraordinary place we live belongs to all of us. This is something I strongly believe, that it’s our duty as citizens to protect and cherish our land.

Hayley Barrett: I’ve always loved “My Country,’Tis of Thee.” As a child, I didn’t realize that the song was likely related to a landmark in my town. Author Samuel Francis Smith is said to have been inspired by the bell and steeple of Old South Church to write these lyrics, “I love thy rocks and rills, thy woods and templed hills, my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.”

Sarvinder Naberhaus: I have so many songs that I love. When teaching 4th grade social studies, my kids learned “50 Nifty United States.”  I love that one! “This Land is Your Land” is also another favorite as well as “America the Beautiful.”

Thank you, Sarvinder and Kadir, for bringing this stunning new book into our lives. For a closer look at BLUE SKY, WHITE STARS, please visit its website HERE.

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, SARVINDER!!!

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About Terry Pierce…

Terry writes board books, picture books, easy readers and middle-grade adventure novels. She lives in the California desert but avoids the summer heat by retreating to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to hike, bike, write and dip her head in high mountain sky. She’s a Vermont College of Fine Arts graduate and teaches online children’s writing courses for UCLA Extension. Her latest books include My Busy Green Garden (Tilbury House) and Mama Loves You So (Little Simon).